Talia planted both feet on the floor and straightened her back as much as she could.
A sharp pain spread from her knees all the way up her spine.
It seemed something had gone wrong when she fell.
She wanted to collapse right then and there, but she forced a calm expression onto her face and looked directly at her biological father.
It had been nearly half a year since she had last seen him.
Even then, she had only caught distant glimpses of him.
Facing him now felt no different from facing a complete stranger.
The same seemed true for the man before her.
The Emperor, visibly uncomfortable, averted his eyes and spoke.
“I heard you have been through a difficult ordeal.”
His voice was flat, as though discussing someone else's affairs.
“I also heard your body was permanently scarred.”
Hostility flashed through Talia's eyes.
This man was little different from a stranger.
The fact that he casually brought up her greatest humiliation filled her with rage.
“Is that why you summoned me?”
A sharp laugh escaped her lips.
Lightly smoothing her skirt, she added mockingly,
“Would you like to see it for yourself? The damage done to my body?”
The man's thick brows twisted.
Instead of the furious rebuke she expected, Virus Roem Gwirta merely stared at her face in silence.
His expression resembled that of a man seeing his daughter for the first time in his life.
“There is no need for me to inspect it personally.”
His reply was blunt.
Then he shifted his gaze to Varkas.
The look in his eyes was tangled with countless complicated thoughts.
A vague unease crept over Talia.
Why had he summoned both her and Varkas?
She glared at him suspiciously.
After a long pause, the Emperor suddenly spoke.
“Varkas Laedgo Siorcan. I entrusted the safety of my children to you. And the result of that trust is standing before me now.”
Talia felt the blood drain from her body.
The Emperor tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips as he continued in a heavy voice.
“The Second Imperial Princess suffered life-threatening injuries due to your failure as her protector. Furthermore, she has sustained permanent physical damage. Do you acknowledge your responsibility in this matter?”
Varkas's gaze briefly brushed against her before moving away.
“I acknowledge it.”
There was no emotion in his voice.
No resentment.
No guilt.
No sign that he was swallowing excuses.
He sounded as though he were simply stating an objective fact.
“I will accept whatever punishment is deemed appropriate.”
Without realizing it, Talia took a step forward.
Varkas did nothing wrong.
The words nearly left her mouth.
Then she fell silent.
Did he truly do nothing wrong?
Her eyes drifted down to the leg that had begun trembling faintly before returning to his face.
The image of him running away with his back turned to her overlapped with the man standing before her.
That memory—the one she knew she would carry for the rest of her life—stole every word she might have spoken.